With questions about President Joe Biden’s mental fitness swirling after a damaging story suggesting he is “showing signs of slipping,” he is getting good marks for his speech in Normandy.
Bill McGurn, a member of The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board, appeared on Fox News on Thursday and seemed to allude to a report that said White House staff hoped Biden’s speech on the 80th anniversary of D-Day would draw comparisons to President Ronald Reagan’s famous speech on the 40th anniversary of the invasion.
“Forty years later, Reagan is still a tough act to follow,” McGurn said.
However, he did provide positive assessment of Biden’s speech:
“I think Joe Biden did pretty well on the speech. No major stumbles. He looked in command. He wasn’t shouting. I think he delivered it very well. I think the words were fine, it was a well written speech.”
Watch the video below:
Politico reports Biden’s aides “studied the Reagan trip closely and are looking to similarly capture the attention of a distracted, disillusioned public and remind them of how much is still at stake. Not only is Biden expected to echo Reagan in paying homage to these climactic battles for freedom and democracy, he will deliver his remarks from where Reagan stood, on those iconic cliffs where the war turned.”
During his remarks, Biden said, “Here, the coast of Normandy, the battle between freedom and tyranny would be joined. Here, on that June morning, the testing was at hand.”
“Aggression and greed, the desire to dominate and control, to change borders by force. These are perennial. And the struggle between a dictatorship and freedom is unending,” he continued as he mentioned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Here in Europe, we see one stark example: Ukraine has been invaded by a tyrant bent on domination. Ukrainians are fighting with extraordinary courage, suffering great losses, but never backing down.”
McGurn’s comment days after Journal published a story, based on interviews with 45 people who interacted with Biden, that said he is “showing signs of slipping” in private.
